[HoosiersDaddy]

Hey folks,

I don't know if this isnt necessarily a problem and I know some of you will hate me for it but...

Hoosier doesn't bark. Only if I really get down on all fours and egg him on -or- when he's really frustrated (e.g. a stuck toy or if he feels unjustly crated). We got him to serve as part guard dog, but he doesn't bark if someone's at the door...in fact he is really nice to new people!

UPDATE: Not a problem at all.

A real problem that we have is a new fear of loud cars and trucks. He tucks tail and is running away during a walk. Its funny because we don't know when it started. As a 5 month old, we had him in public and motorcycles would fire up right in front of him and he wouldnt flinch. All of a sudden, he's scared to death. It seemed to coincide with when he developed a taste for fresh poo...

I suppose I could teach him to speak, but how can I "curb" this fear of cars?

p.s. I try distracting him when I hear them coming and that works 80% of the time. Keep at it or is there a better way?

 

[JessiesMom]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

i dont see any reason why someone could hate you for anyting you just said...

Maggie barks when someone comes to her door, but shes still friendly to the person that is at the door...

You should speak to a trainer about having a door bell or knock at the door as the command to speak.

I dont have any real advice about the car thing except something had to have happened to get this reaction from him...  

Jessie is petrefied of the gate we use to keep her in the kitchen... It fell on her one day when i tried to step over it, because my foot hit it.  Since then she avoids it at all costs... If i have it in my hand to move it or something she gets low to the ground or runs away completely!

 

[lillyzmomma]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

Some Boxer's just aren't big barkers.  If your looking for a gaurd dog...you probably picked the wrong breed.  They are inherently suspicious of strangers, but most Boxer's just love people in general.

Please don't egg your dog on to get him to bark.  This is asking for trouble.  Especially if your down at his level.  Your asking to be bitten and the when it happens your going to blame your dog rather than the one truly at fault...yourself.

For fear of cars...put him in a sit/down (your choice) and speak calmly (no coddling) to him.  Have him deal with it and when he is calm again...give him lots of praise and continue on your way.  Do this everytime you come upon the offending noise.

Don't coddle becauset his will actually reinforce that there is a reason to be fearful.  If your calm, assertive, and firm your dog will see that there is no reson to be fearful.  How old is he anyways?  He may also be going through a new developmental stage.

 

[Michelle]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

Tyson does not bark a lot either.  Only when we are playing sometimes.  If the doorbell rings, he will go to the door, but won't bark.  And he doesn't bark at people either.  I think it's great!  He is also really scared of the garbage truck, but not cars.

 

[tootsie]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

I agree with Liz on this issue, I would not "train" or try to get him to bark.  As far as getting him as a guard dog, I do think you picked the wrong breed.  :?  While Boxers in general, tend to be protective towards their family members it's been said "A Boxer will lead a thief to the jewels for a pat on the head." A Boxer should never be acquired for the sole purpose of guarding.

 

[Kate]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

Kane did the same thing you describe Hoosier doing (fear of car noises).  I followed Liz's advice and he is doing much better.  Once in a while he still gets a little spooky and pulls on the lead, but either he sits and calms down, or I sit down and don't budge until he sits and calms down.  It works!

 

[Barbs2Ks]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

Kiah barks when she hears something outside and sometimes when someone knocks.  She barks a lot less now that she is getting familiar with the sounds around the house and neighborhood.

 

[HoosiersDaddy]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

Maybe I should be more clear about what I mean by "guard dog". I don't want him to attack or be vicious. I would like for him to alert us to someone looking into the window or if/when something/someone is in the house. To be somewhat territorial, but not at all physical. If anything, we wanted his presence to deter petty theives. They need not know he's really a sweetheart.

And please don't think I'm teasing my boxer simply to get a bark out of him. I'm very careful about using toys and I spent time on the floor with him as we do not allow him onto furniture. Its during a tug of war game or a rowsing game of fetch that he may give a bark or two. In most cases, he barks at the toy. If I felt he was being at all aggressive, trust me, I wouldn't continue.

As far as cars, that's pretty much the path I'm on. I really have no idea what spooked him. He's almost seven months by the way and sidesteps most loud noises. It could just be a developmental step, but I didn't want this to become ingrained and problematic down the line.

 

[southerngirls]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

my Reese is 7 months and we are having the same issues with the loud cars and also the poo eating. I dont know if they are related at all, but you arent the only one. Also the only time she will make a peep is if she wants out of the kennel to potty or if Savannah has the pb jar and she wants it We are working with the advice from liz for the cars. i am tryin to trust her more off lead, but when it is a busy time outside then we leash up and i have her "confront" the fear so to speak. What we will do is i will shortin and tightin the leash until she comes to a sit (when she works herself up she wont listen to basic commands) once i get her in a sit position we stare at the noise (car, motorbike, diesel truck....) and i go "wow baby that -vehicile- sure is loud. why do you think it is that loud?? " Reese will listen to me, but will be watching the vehicle. It seems to calm her down a wee bit. Once the vehicle has passed, i will be like "whelp babygirl looks like that loud thing is gone, lets finish our walk" and off we go. it is taking alot of time a patience but we are slowly getting there.

 

[HoosiersDaddy]

Re: No Barking and fear of cars

Its been a while and we've got new people on the forum now. Hoosier is now about 15 months old and still deftly afraid of buses and trucks. If he is in a sit, as soon as the truck comes, he bolts until the lead pops...and if it wasn't wrapped around my wrist and hand, he'd be even farther.

I've come to grips with him being the strong silent type, but any other advice about the fear of trucks? He really is very skiddish in general, very easily startled. He's not abused or anything, but he'll jump sometimes if I touch him and he wasn't expecting it. He's also fearful of everyday stuff around the house, like a plastic bag. I brought home some dry cleaning once and he took off tail tucked! Help!

 

[sully]

Oggie is going through a stage where he's afraid of a lot of stuff. Wasn't like that before, but loud noises send him running back into the house.  Like the other night I was moving some stuff in the basement and I came up and he was shivering with his tail between his legs.  Other noises just put him on guard.  I don't really have any helpful advice, I'm hoping it's just a phase.

As for the barking thing, I too wanted him to bark more at people outside or if someone comes to the house.  He actually has come a little ways with that, he used to never bark except at other dogs.  I was able to get him to bark one day by waving to him on the other side of a window, and  I praised him and gave him a treat and said "good bark."  Only a few short sessions of that and he learned the command "Bark."  So after that, when I saw people outside I would command him to bark.  He picked up on it pretty quickly and will now bark at people outside (even if I'm not in the room) and expects a treat for it.  The only problem is that if he doesn't see the person and they just come to the door, he does get alert and stares them down but usually doesn't bark.  So theres been some progress there but he can still be the silent type as well.  I have noticed with age he will bark more, and I think he barks more if another dog is doing it.  I am considering getting a female dog next, not only because the male-female combo is optimal, I believe females tend to be more vocal.  Maybe she'll bring him out of his shell   :lol:

 

[kris]

Harley loves to " talk" in fact he will argue with someone just to hear himself talk. Dozer on the other hand is not a big barker, but he will if Harley aggrevates him or if there is something that he feels isn't right. I can't help you on the fear of cars, neither of mine are afraid of cars. I would take Liz's advice.

 

[Cassius-Pup]

Cassius is suddenly afraid of trash cans and bags.  Not horribly but he gets bugged out by them and I talk to him calmly and we slowly approach them and he realizes there is nothing wrong.  I spoke to our trainer about this and she said that it just happens with alot of dogs, at some point in their teenage phase they get real scared of alot of things that never bothered them, and as quickly as it comes on it will suddenly disappear for the most part.  Her advice to me was to just be calm and patient and not to stress about it, if I see a trash can and get tensed that he's gonna freak odds are he's gonna freak but if I walk by it without even noticing it, odds are he'll realize it's no big deal.

 

[nano]

It is usally a phase and Hoosier would be in that age.  Just keep working on the fear of noises and things.  If you had an older more confident dog that you could go on walks with and work on these scary things with him it would help.  Maybe a friend with a dog like that that you could inlist in some time working with you?  It really helps Talia that Mateo will think something is okay (a new scary thing) and walk up and sniff it.  It gives her the confidence that it is okay.  She is coming on 21 months now and has become much more confident in the last 2 - 3 months.

Nano

 

[HoosiersDaddy]

Thanks folks.

 

[caillou]

Voltaire used to be quite the coward as a pup - now he's a great guard dog!!! Like you I taught him to bark - i know it sounds silly but it works!!! When you see a stranger outside try to behave the way you want him to and he'll mimic it - worked for me!!! Use the same phrase each time and he'll get the hang of it. If i say "Who's there?!!!!" Voltaire barks and rushes to the front door fur standing on end ready to protect. I also found the more people he met the more confident and less intimidated he was around humans. Saying that he'll never let a stranger stroke him - he backs right off but doesn't get agressive. And then as they get older the natural guard dog instincts take over anyways - he'll surprise you 'hear me roar!!!'

 

[HoosiersDaddy]

I was thinking:

Maybe the protective side of Hoos hasn't come out because I'm "top dog"? You think he may feel like protecting the pack is my job? Just thoughts...

Either way I hope that something develops, even though I'll love the kid regardless. My wife would have extra piece of mind when I'm gone or when she runs out to work in the dark (we live around the corner from her job). In the long term, we like for him to "patrol" the house when we are away as well. We don't expect for him to attack anybody, just make them think twice!

 

[Guest]

I use the same phrase.  I saw "who is it?" or "who's here?"

Binga RUNS to the door with her big girl bark, hair standing.  I think its a great thing for her to know to do.  I am home by myself a lot.  

Bear doesn't really do much yet.  He just bounces around when Binga is barking.  Its quite comical.

 

[HoosiersDaddy]

I use the same phrase.  I saw "who is it?" or "who's here?"

"Who's here" sound like Hoosier!

As matter of fact, one of the myths regarding the term Hoosier is that because of the hieght and thickness of the corn and wheat fields in Indiana, when someone would come calling farmers would yell out "Who's yere". We eventually because known as Hoosiers. Another is Who's ear (of corn)?

Who is it might work best for us!

 

[samsonsmom]

Jon, when you are not there, is Hoosier more protective? Sometimes when the "top dog", being you is gone then the protect mode starts in....Just a thought